


I'm Proud of You

by NobodyOfficial



Category: The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Little bit of angst, Mafala is the best dad, arnold is a lil ball of anxiety like boy pls chill, as in first kiss ever, for tumblr, it's so awkward, literally so soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-19 02:31:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11303904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NobodyOfficial/pseuds/NobodyOfficial
Summary: Arnold comes to Mafala seeking advice on whether he should ask Nabulungi out or not, although he gets a little tongue tied. Mafala does everything he can to be a good father and put Arnold at ease.~Or Mafala basically decides Arnold needs a dad who loves him and that he is that dad.





	I'm Proud of You

**Author's Note:**

> For a tumblr anon but thought I'd stick it on here. Archive warnings really don't apply, this is a very fluffy fic, but just a heads up:  
> -very, very vague mention of people being killed  
> -definitely not abuse, but reference to parents not being as loving and supportive as they should be  
> -very likely canon character death but not directly mentioned  
> -the most awkward first kiss in the world
> 
> Hope you like it :)

Arnold scuffed his shoes through the dirt as he hesitated on the doorstep, unable to bring himself to knock, but knowing he'd regret walking away. He felt nauseous and dizzy, the unrelenting rays of the desert sun doing nothing to remedy that. For almost five minutes now he'd been loitering, raising his fist to knock then panicking and stuffing it back in his pocket. He shuddered, a wave of nerves rolling though his body, then steeled himself to knock again.

Since arriving in Uganda Arnold had knocked on Nabulungi's door several times, always with the same result; Arnold falling a little deeper in love with her. This time, however, was different. He didn't want to speak to Nabulungi; he was looking for Mafala.

"Hey!"

Arnold started and took an immediate step back, tripping over a pail beside the door. His heart hammered and he felt sweat tickle the back of his neck.

"Are you going to knock or what?" Mafala was sat around the side of the house, just obscured from Arnold's view, but in a position from which he could witness the dithering on the doorstep. He smiled warmly at Arnold and wiped his hands on a cloth, then stretched and wandered casually towards the front door.

"If you're looking for Naba she's out, Elder Cunningham. Would you like me to tell her you called?" Arnold could almost feel his mouth drying out. Each breath was like sucking on sandpaper.

"N-no," he panted. When did he get out of breath? His lungs felt tight. "I was actually," a pause, "Actually. Actually looking for you!" In an attempt to look suave Arnold ran his fingers through his hair, but only succeeded in getting them caught in his curls. Panicking, he wiggled them free, leaving his hair standing on end.

Chuckling, Mafala patted Arnold on the shoulder. "Oh, you're a funny boy," he smiled. "What do you want to tell me?" He flipped the pail Arnold had tripped on and sat down, gesturing to a crate for Arnold. Neglecting to flip his own makeshift seating, Arnold fell right in to the crate. He decided to keep the little dignity he had left, so with his legs stuck in the air and half his body in the crate Arnold stayed put.

"I just wanted to say," Arnold wriggled; already the side of the crate was cutting off blood supply in his legs, "that, umm, a meteor is heading to Earth! Gotta go! Bye!" He jumped up, swayed a little, then fell back down into the crate.

"Ok." Mafala placed a hand calmly on Arnold's shoulder. "So we're all going to die. Anything else you want to tell me?" Arnold's cheeks heated up until they glowed like a night light, but he said nothing. In the silence Mafala stood and helped Arnold out of the crate, before flipping it over and sitting him back down. Then he placed his pail right in front of Arnold and sat down, staring the young man straight in the eye. Arnold shrank back. "Don't be scared, young Elder Cunningham. I want to hear what you have to say. And no lying, if you'd be so kind."

Arnold's shoulders were hunched and his hands clasped together, as if he was trying to make himself as small as possible. He took a deep, shaky breath. He was an atom bomb about to explode, and if he didn't calm down he'd cause certain destruction. "So here's the thing... I really like your daughter, like, like like, and I want to ask her out, on like a date, and I wanted to ask your permission, not your permission really, she's not _your_ daughter, well she is your daughter, but not like a possession, you know? When, if, I ask her she can choose to say yes or no whether you say yes or no, I'm more looking for advice, like do you think she'll say yes? And if she won't is there anything I can do to make that better? I won't be really persistent or anything, that's rude, but I mean if I wore a red shirt or something, is she more likely to say yes? I've just never really, really liked someone before like this so I'm kind of scared." He paused to take several gasps of breath, then garbled, "Never mind, never mind, sorry this was a dare, bye," but when he got up to race away his legs were weak with fear, and instead he sank to the floor. Defeated, Arnold hid his face in his hands.

"That's a lot to be worrying about," Mafala said. Arnold sighed dramatically. "You know, a boy once came to me asking if he could marry my Naba." Arnold slowly uncoiled himself. "She barely knew him, they had talked once on the bus. I said no immediately, I did not want my daughter to marry as young as fifteen, but I asked Nabulungi what she would have said later. She also said no."

"I don't want to marry Naba, if that's why you're telling me this," Arnold mumbled into the floor. "But that doesn't mean I'd never want to marry her! I don't mean she's not marriage material, she's lovely, really, but I'm only nineteen! She's only nineteen! Sorry! I'm so hot!" He sat up and began to fan his face with his hand, undoing a couple of his shirt buttons.

"Please, please," Mafala soothed, "Don't stress so much. I'm telling you this because I often agree with my daughter. Trying to instil some confidence in you. Here." He disappeared inside the house and returned a few moments later with a bottle of water. "You're working yourself up, I'd never want to hurt you, Elder Cunningham." Arnold began to chug the water down, but Mafala stopped him before he could choke. "Slowly, calm down. Sit back on the crate." Arnold crawled back up on the box and curled up even smaller than before.

"Now, let me tell you something about Nabulungi," Mafala started. "I have never before heard her talk about someone the way she talks about you. Every day there is something new she likes about you. 'Father, his hair is so perfect, father, he's so warm to hug, father, he's so funny-'"

"Is that your Nabulungi voice?" Arnold giggled.

"Yes, yes, I know," Mafala smiled. "I sound nothing like her. But-"

"Does she really like my hair?" Arnold patted his curls which were fuzzy where he'd tried to brush them and a tangled mess where he hadn't. Nabulungi was great at brushing his hair; she'd spray it with water then brush it ruthlessly with a comb, and when it dried even Arnold would admit that it looked quite good.

"Yes, she says it's very soft. Anyway-"

"I'm probably great at hugging." Arnold wrapped his arms around himself, but this time looking confident, not self-conscious. "I'm soft and adorable. My dad says both of those are bad things, but if it means Naba like hugging me, how can they be?"

Mafala conceded, giving up on his speech. Arnold was practically glowing with pride already, unable to contain his joy over the fact that Nabulungi liked him even a little bit. This was the kind of person he wanted to date his daughter. "Those are both excellent things to be, Elder Cunningham," he said. "Being soft means you're healthy, and healthy is safe. Who doesn't like to be safe? And who doesn't want to be adorable? You have bright eyes, full of life, Naba loves that about you."

Arnold allowed his shoulders to roll back a little and lifted his chin up. "I feel so awesome right now," he admitted. "Is this how my family's suppose to make me feel? It's like... All fuzzy and light in my chest. I feel really happy and good. My hair is great!" He jumped up. "I'm hilarious!" He hopped on to the crate. "And being chubby is the best because the most amazing girl likes hugging me! I'm awesome!" Then he settled himself back on the crate. "But Mr Hatimbi... Am I good enough to date Naba?"

Mafala looked hard at Arnold. His eyes were bright and hopeful. He wasn't cowering like before, but he was tense, braced for impact. One of his hands was balled into a fist, as if all his fears and doubts were focused in that one place. One thing was very clear to Mafala: Arnold loved Nabulungi very much. "When I was young my parents always wanted me to make something great of myself," he told Arnold. "A teacher, a doctor, a lawyer. Well, as you can see that didn't happen. I help keep the peace in local villages, I fix things for people, I try to get clean water, sometimes I cook. Even now, there's not just one thing I do. But I get by. I do enough.

"Other boys, they got a lot of money, but through dishonourable means. They stole for it, sometimes killed for it. I didn't want to be like that, I wanted my honest living. And in the end I got something better than a job, better than money." Arnold began to fidget, so Mafala hurried his story along. "I got Naba, and her mother. I love them more than anything in the world. And did her parents think I was good enough for their daughter? No, of course not! But I loved her. I love her. We always made it work because we loved each other. And we loved Naba.

"My point is, all I ask is that you love Naba. And you do. I know you're a good man, Elder Cunningham, I've seen how you inspire the villagers. You have a bright future ahead of you. So please don't worry about Nabulungi not liking you, or me disapproving. No matter what, I want you to know that I'm proud of you."

Arnold launched himself off the crate and hugged Mafala tightly, hiding his tears in his shoulder. "You have no idea what that means to me," he whispered, clutching handfuls of Mafala's shirt.

Mafala smiled, holding Arnold in a gentle, protective embrace. He knew exactly what that meant to Arnold, and he meant every word of it. There was no one he would rather date his daughter. (And Nabulungi had been right about the hugging. Arnold felt warm and comforting).

"Arnold? Father?" Mafala and Arnold looked up to see Nabulungi stood a few steps away. She smiled warmly, but her eyebrow was raised in confusion.

"Go on," Mafala whispered to Arnold, patting him on the back.

Arnold rushed over to Nabulungi and hugged her, picking her up and spinning her round once. She laughed clinging tightly to Arnold. "Naba, you're the best," Arnold proclaimed happily. "The best human being I have ever met, I really like you."

"Thank you," she blushed. "I really like you too."

"Would you... Like to... Go out with me?" Arnold held his breath, shoulders tense, both eager and terrified to hear her answer.

"Go out where with you, Arnold?" Nabulungi asked.

"On a date! Like... A date. Dating..." He trailed off, embarrassed.

"Oh," she said softly. Arnold looked down at the floor. "Well then yes, of course I would like to go out with you!" She kissed him on the cheek and Arnold practically shuddered with joy.

"This is the best day of my life!" Arnold exclaimed. Then they waited for a moment, silent, neither one really knowing what to do next. "Can I kiss you? Like, properly?" Arnold asked softly. Nabulungi nodded. More silence. "How do you kiss?" Arnold whispered.

Nabulungi laughed and pressed her forehead against his. "I don't really know. I guess we try and see?" She pressed her lips against his, then pulled back. "Like that?"

"I think we need to do something with our tongues," Arnold mumbled, his cheeks bright red. He leaned in to kiss Nabulungi again, but this time he awkwardly opened his mouth and tentatively put his tongue in hers. They cringed. Fumbled. Pulled back a bit. Then finally, after a few awkward starts, Arnold wrapped his arms around Nabulungi's waist and pulled her closer. This felt right. He was pretty sure they'd got it.

"Excuse me?" The pulled apart and looked in horror at Mafala, who wasn't watching but was looking rather awkward. "Please continue to navigate your newfound feelings in private. In the mean time, is Elder Cunningham staying for tea?"

"Arnold," he corrected, "Would like that very much." Arnold took Nabulungi's hand and followed Mafala in to the house, smiling stupidly. He'd done nothing but ask Nabulungi out on their first date, but somehow he felt like he'd been accepted in to a family.

**Author's Note:**

> In case you didn't notice, I love Mafala and he's under appreciated. Anyway, my tumblr is everyonewholovesmehasdied and it kind of sucks but I've actually bothered to organise it and I'll do any headcanon/fic prompts. 
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


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